Seminole Hard Rock “Rock ’N’ Roll” Poker Open
Event 5: $1,100 Six Max No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$75,000 Guaranteed

November 16-18, 2014

Total Entries:  93
Total Prize Pool:  $93,000

Recap:
The fifth event of the 2014 Seminole Hard Rock “Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open” was a smaller field, bigger buy-in tournament which drew some of the best players from the area. It was scheduled to run two days but it took an extra session before Angel Vu (South Daytona, FL) was the final player with chips, earning $30,671 for the title and adding to her already great year.

The event drew past champions, WSOP bracelet winners, and plenty of Seminole Hard Rock poker regulars. The short-handed format would generally create a lot of action but it was balanced out by a great structure giving players a chance to use all their creativity.

They played 10 one-hour levels on Day 1 and Brazilian David Dayan finished the day with a healthy lead. Only 17 of the starting 93 players were around at the end of the night but they still had work to make the money.

It took nearly three hours of action to get down from 17 players to the money bubble but it burst quickly. While tournament staff were preparing to go hand-for-hand between the tables, Harrison Gimbel (Jupiter, FL) was already all-in versus Vu and drawing nearly dead.

Gimbel’s exit in 10th place put the rest of the field in the money and the first person to get paid was former leader Dayan. Day 2 was not good for the Brazilian but he was able to hang on to get a paying spot. The exit of Torrey Korsog (Osprey, FL) set up the long final table battle.

Five and a half hours later the tournament was still three-handed between Vu, Antonio Colon (Princeton, FL) , and Daren Stabinski (Weston, FL). Those three would play some crazy hands including a big three-way all-in pot which kept Colon alive and another to keep Vu in the game.

That second huge pot knocked Colon out of the game and set up a long heads up match. While pots during the final table were controlled, Vu and Stabinski had some big swings once it was just the two of them. As 3am rolled around, the two bagged up their chips to return the next day with Vu holding a slight lead.

Their return for the bonus Day 3 was quick and neat. Vu took a huge lead shortly into the match with flush-over-flush and finished Stabinski off a few hands later with over . The match was over in just 16 minutes with the results moving both players over $200,000 in career tournament earnings.

Vu was already a big fan of the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, FL but the love continues to grow. She is the reigning Seminole Hard Rock Poker Player of the Year and cashed five times during the 2014 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open to lock up her title.

“I love this place!” Vu said happily. “It feels like home to me. It’s so comfortable and friendly, everyone here is so nice to me.”

When she’s not winning tournaments or entertaining others at the table, Vu has two favorite spots to feed her internal systems.

“I love The Bōl, I’m Asian so I have to go there all the time. It’s so good.” Vu laughed. “But sometimes I like to get a big steak at the Hard Rock Cafe. I’m so tiny I can’t eat it all but I love it.”

“I will always play at Seminole Hard Rock,” she finished up. “It’s my home.”

Event 5 Results:
1st – Angel Vu (South Daytona, FL) $30,671
2nd – Daren Stabinski (Weston, FL) $17,952
3rd – Antonio Colon (Princeton, FL) $11,727
4th – Marc Sacheli (Miami Beach, FL) $8,570
5th – Scott Zakheim Davie, FL) $6,405
6th – Jeffrey Trudeau (Orlando, FL) $4,962
7th – Luke Brereton (Prestbury, UK) $3,969
8th – Torrey Korsog (Osprey, FL) $3,248
9th – David Dayan (Sao Paulo, BR) $2,706